Same Time Next Year
by seyheystevierey
Summary: Jessie and Katie and what could have been after the show ended.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Title: Same Time Next Year

Author: seyheystevierey

Disclaimer: If we did this for money we would change the names to protect the innocent. A lot of these stories could be sold. There are some really talented people who do this for their own reasons and I thank you for that. Everyone else knows who the main characters are and who owns them. Since it's all fiction to start with, I had an idea that went with the show, sort of. As the story unfolds you will see which ones. Thanks to You Tube and Angelfire where I found a show synopsis for all three seasons I was able to actually do some research and learn about the characters and get a feel for some of them. Not trying to bore anybody but I'm a roll here. Thanks to all who came before and shared such wonderful thoughts. I will try to keep up the good words.

The Attic:

A lot of things transpired in the attic that day. There was more than a kiss, there was more than a sweater and ever so much more than a letter. Some things were decided and some things were set in stone. A bond between three high school girls in different ways, that would touch the lives of so many people. Forever sealed in those smiles of departure where love and friendship never leave one another. These things have a way of working themselves out, but nobody said it was going to be easy.

Chapter one:

Twelve years later:

International Horse Park

Conyers, Georgia

Home of the 1996 Equestrian Olympics

"It looks like another banner year Dr. Sammler."

"Thank you Robert," Jessie says and thinks to herself, thank god for name tags. "It looks like things are coming together. Thanks for all your help. Without all of you volunteers we wouldn't be able to do all of this."

"Word has it you were just a volunteer once upon a time" he grins.

"Don't let all of those lofty titles go to your head, I'm still just a volunteer" she says as she reflects on what it was to be a volunteer back then. Or what she was as a volunteer.

"By the way, I've got a message for you from your sister Grace."

"Thanks, I am walking to big arena now are you heading that way?"

"No, I'm going the other way. I was handy to pass this message on to you. Do you need me to take anything over there for you?"

"Not at the moment, but thanks for asking."

"O k, hope to see you later," and with a wave he was outta there.

She looks at the card with a grin and shakes her head. Typical Grace, I don't know why she thinks she needs my opinion on this when she has all of this taken care of. Ever since they have been doing these events Grace has successfully handled all of the scheduling and coordination. She was a natural take charge kind of girl that way ever since high school. As she starts thinking of simpler days, her thoughts are interrupted by a group of girls wearing STAFF t-shirts.

"Hi Miss Jessie"

"Hi girls, do you have everything you need?"

"Oh yes maam," says a blond haired girl. "We just want to thank you for letting us work the whole weekend."

"Well about working the whole weekend I've got good news and bad news. I was going to talk to you later about this later, but now is as good a time as any."

"The bad news is your crew isn't working the entire show," Jessie says as she raises her hand to stave off a riot. She looks at panic stricken faces and says "The good news is another crew volunteered and Grace set them to do clean up and loading. That frees your group in time to clean up and change for the concert. You'll be in the reserved section so make sure each one of you has a nice outfit, "she said and started on her way.

The look on those stunned faces was worth the price of admission. You would have thought each one of them had been crowned queen for the day.

"Thank you, thank you! We won't let you down," as they rushed off to their duties.

Two years ago that was a group of troubled young girls heading in the wrong direction. A different type of therapy helped point them to a better way. Jessie knew about therapy. At one time it was an embarrassment. Now it was her life.

As she rounded the corner of the big covered arena she slowed down to look up at the huge banner hanging down.

Welcome To The 6th Annual Rescue Benefit

Six years here, but for Jessie it started a lot sooner than that. Thinking back was easy. The road ahead wasn't quite so simple.

As she started up the stairs to the press box she heard a bunch of noise coming from one of the other arenas but figured it was another hoorah and kept climbing. Grace was waiting inside to finalize the schedule of events that were to start the next day. From inside she heard some music playing but couldn't put her finger on the style.

"Grace, what in the world is song?" she asks as she walks in.

"Jessie this is another one of Eli's discoveries, it's a Gospel, blues and bluegrass band. He says that they are a cross between Stevie Ray Vaughn and Flat and Scruggs with a lot of soul searching in between. I'm reading this off the demo cover of course. Take one with you and give it a listen later on because they are on the schedule."

"Ok, I'll check that out. In the meantime I wanted to thank you for organizing all this again. I don't know how you do this every year" and gives her a hug.

"You know Jess, back in the old days when we had to worry if people would show up and if they money for a ticket? That was hard. Nowadays all we have to do is pick and choose who we want working here for free. The shows are almost all sold out in advance and how do I do it? I have learned to delegate in my old age" she laughs "and besides, nobody wants to face the wrath of Grace" as she gives a mock glare.

"It's good to see some thins never change in that regard" she grins back.

They get quiet for a moment and reflected on past moments.

"I don't know what you are thinking about, but I know who you are thinking about. You have that faraway look Jess."

"Oh hush," Jessie giggles," I was just thinking what a lousy role model I would be if every body knew that 2 girls skipping school was how this all started."

"You mean…?"

"Yes I mean. That day that Katie and I went to my mom's house when she was in the hospital and we got caught by your mom. Katie was asking about which room I liked better and somehow we got on the subject of ranches and lofts and anyone would have said dream on if we would have told that this was the result of that afternoon."

After another quiet moment Jessie looks towards the outside.

"Grace did you ever think about some of those huge major defining moments of your life that don't seem so big when you add up all of the insignificant things that really matter," she says while gazing out at the empty seats.

"I know what you mean. We do create a lot of drama, don't we?" she answers." So Jessie, as a founding member of all this, just whose idea was it anyway."

"Well. That spring before the summer of our first doing this Katie just decided one day that we needed to go horseback riding. I told her I haven't been in a long time and she said that if she was going to come visit me on my ranch she need to brush up on her horsewoman ship skills."

Grace has one of those I can't believe you just said that look on her face.

"Oh listen, this gets better. Then she goes on to tell me about how one of her brothers used to date a girl who was friends with a girl who dated a guy whose mom owned a stable" after that mouthful Jessie takes a breath.

"That is so typical Katie Singer." Grace says.

By this time they are laughing so hard, neither one of them can say anything. When they can't laugh anymore and they are wiping their eyes, Grace looks over at Jessie and sees that look again.

"How are things with you and Katie? We haven't had much time together this year what with you doing seminars and me on my book tour. I haven't seen Katie since last year. We've talked a few times and she seemed really exited about the show this year, said she had a surprise design."

"I've heard about that but I have no details. As far as things with us? I guess we are in the off again stage for right now. But something tells me that's going to change. I can't pinpoint it because like you said, we haven't seen much of each other this year. I've been on seminar tours and training and lord knows where Katie has been. Her Concepts take her to some weird places."

"That's the truth. I got a hug, a good to see you and we'll talk later when she got here this morning and then she was off again. I didn't see any entourage or camp followers either. Looked like she was on her own from what I could see.

Jessie stomps her foot and says "That's what I got! She said she had to help set up a booth but didn't say what for. I guess we'll find out later."

" So Jess, what's this about skipping school?"

Just then a radio blares out, "Grace, Grace are you there?"

"Go ahead, Zoe."

"Do you know where Jessie is, I can't get her on her radio."

"She's here with me sis, what's up, you sound stressed."

"You need to get over to the Dressage Practice Arena, there's been an accident."

"Ok, we're coming now. What happened?"

"I'll tell you what happened when you get here, but please hurry. Katie's unconscious and she might have a broken bone or two."

Jessie grabbed the radio, "Has any one called 911?"

"The EMT's are her from the first aid center."

"We're on our way!"

End of chapter one: tbc

Please feed me back. This is my 1st attempt and I have a lot more in the can.I'm just the slowest typer in the world so bear with me.


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Same Time Next Year

.Title: Same Time Next Year

Rating: Some strong language

Jesse Sammler: Graduated College with a degree in Occupational Therapy and works with children of all ages.

Katie Singer: Has a Degree in Design and Architecture. Owns a consulting firm

Named Concepts by Katherine.

Grace Manning: Studied Journalism and has a literary degree. Has three books published.

Eli Sammler: Is a headhunter in the music industry. Has a unique talent for placing undiscovered musicians.

Zoe Manning: Competition Barrel Racer and part time student.

Chapter 2:

When Grace and Jessie reach the arena where the accident occurred they see Zoe seriously harassing a guy sitting on some kind of weird machine.

"Zoe, what's going on here? Where's Katie and what the hell is that thing?"

"Jessie, they took Katie to the First Aid Center. Maybe you can get Johnny Knoxville here to give you a ride over in his all terrain wheelchair."

"Hey now…"

"Shut up asshole. Since when did they start putting backup beepers on wheelchairs? This is a Charity Exhibition not the Jackass Show."

"Calm down Zoe. Just tell me what happened." says Grace as she tries to steer her sister away from a confrontation.

"All I know is that they were checking out the hydraulic lift on the handicap ramp over there and all of a sudden there was this ear shattering noise. Well a horse bolted and Katie jumps in front doing her best Rodeo Clown impersonation to avoid one of the clients from getting run over. It almost worked too, but the horse wheeled right and knocked her into the rail. Let's get on over there and see how she is."

"What about her being unconscious?" Jessie asks as they commandeer a golf cart and head to the First aid center.

"She's got a nasty lump on the back of her head where she hit that rail. They wrapped some ice on it to try and keep the swelling down. They weren't answering questions, they just got her loaded on the stretcher and left."

"Well one thing is for sure, there is definitely no shortage of doctors in town this weekend." Grace says.

After the short ride to the infirmary they jumped out of the golf cart and rush inside.

"All right there ladies lets slow down a little" says a man dressed in scrubs.

"Where is she doctor?" Jessie asks with a slight tremor in her voice.

"We are getting her ready for transport. We need to get her to the emergency room. We're not set up for x-rays here. They put an air cast on her wrist, but I am more concerned with the head injury."

"I guess we'll know more when we get her there. How long before they leave and which hospital are they going to?" Grace wants to know.

"Parkside Hospital is 15 minutes away and I think we are ready now." He says going to the waiting ambulance.

"Can I go with you?" Jessie asks.

"I'll check real quickly."

"Grace, I'll call you when I get there" Jessie says as she climbs in the back.

"She'll be ok Jess, I just know it."

"Thanks Zoe." Jessie says as they slam the door and take off.

A half hour later, Jessie is in the waiting room and talking on the phone with Eli.

"Grace is on her way up there. I'm going to wait here with Zoe and get a few things ironed out on the sound system. Call us with any news, ok?"

"I will Eli, Just make sure I can reach one of you. We haven't been here long enough for them to have any kind ok diagnosis yet, so I have to play the waiting game."

"Jess, that's not a game your very good at. In a situation like this I don't anyone who is. Call me later with an update. Love you, by."

"By Eli, I will."

A few minutes later Grace walks in and sits next to Jessie. She reaches over and holds Jessie's hand and without saying anything they smile at each other. At this point a doctor comes out and waves them over to counter.

"We'll be moving her to a room in about an hour. We won't know the extent of her head injury until the swelling goes down and hopefully regains consciousness."

"What do you mean hopefully? She's going to be all right isn't she?" Jessie asks.

"From what I see there is no reason to believe she won't be. She suffered a cracked bone in her wrist and she has some bruising, but that was a hard shot she took to the head. This is one of those cases that time will tell. I will send someone for you when they have her settled in. You can either wait here or come back in a little while."

"I'm going to wait. Is there a place here that will have some fresh coffee?" Jessie asks.

"There is a little shop in the Front lobby that has better than Starbucks."

"Thank you doctor, we'll be back in a few minutes." Grace tells him.

When they returned to the waiting room they are bombarded by a bunch of people from the arena. One of the guys who were with the wheelchair fiasco came up to Grace wanting to apologize.

"Listen Miss Manning, now might not be the best time, but that really was an accident back there. We had no idea that chair was loaded with all those gismos. The guy that is actually going to do the demo on that model won't be here until tomorrow but we had to make sure that the ramp would accommodate a chair that size. This is a new model that if approved will be in production and used by the Veterans Administration." He said.

"I'm sure nobody meant any harm, but we have a seriously injured woman here. Everybody knows accidents happen, but they aren't supposed to happen to us. What are people going to think when they find out one of the staff was hurt by negligence?" Grace says. "All right, listen up everybody. Jessie and I want to thank you for your concern but now is not a good time to crowd around here. They will be moving her to a room in a little while so if everyone can go back to the arena we will keep you posted."

One of the volunteers came up to Jessie and said "It's kind of slow over there for a bunch of us right now so if we can do anything for you let us know." She said.

"Thanks. We will. Now if you will excuse me one of the nurses is waving at me."

As the room started to clear Jessie walked over to the nurses' station. The nurse that waved her over wanted to know who was going to be responsible for Katie's decisions until she regained consciousness.

"That would be me, depending on how long she is out." Jessie says. "Her Mom and Dad are in Illinois. If it comes down to life and death decisions we will call them, in the meantime they will be informed and kept up to date."

"Hey Jess, let's sit over there on that couch out of the main drag here" Grace says pointing to the other side of the room.

"Good idea, we might be awhile."

"So while we wait, tell me about what we were talking about before all this happened."

"One day after my mom had her accident; we skipped school and went to my mom's house. We talked about rooms and we talked about lofts and ranches and we talked about not seeing each other. That really bothered me. I told her she could visit. And she softly said so could you, and then your mom walked in." she says with a grimace. "I guess the first time I realized I had any kind of Feelings for Katie was the first night after the play. I hadn't known her very long and never thought about anything other than the few times we had hung out, but she came to the back, said: You were amazing and walked right by me and gave Sara a big hug. Then she turned to me and said so were you Jess. That took the wind out of my sails. I didn't even know they were friends but Sara took real offense to me being around. One thing led to another and then she said that Katie would do the same to me and I wasn't special. I never thought I was and what did that have to do with anything in the first place. She had already been treating me like crap but I had no clue what her feelings were for Katie. You know, at the time I was starting to feel good about myself again. I was making some new friends, I was getting used to having a whole new family and therapy was working."

"Yeah, I remember you were starting to come out of your shell and people were taking notice of you. You really did blow them away in that play. I was so jealous of how good your singing was."

"Grace I never knew that. Your acting was so good I didn't think any one was paying me any attention." she said. "That last night after the play Katie showed up at our house and I was mad at her. She came up to the attic so I started throwing her dress at her and telling her that was so not how I was. She said what do mean and I told her what Sara said and she said I choose you. I said what? I was stunned. She said I choose you over her. I said I don't want any body to choose anyone. She said I can't help myself."

"I always wondered where you got off to that night" Grace said.

"That's where I was. Katie held her hand out and just looked at me. No rambling, no famous Singer smile, just a sincere look. I took her hand and it was electric. We stood there and looked at each other not saying any thing. The only thing I could think of was the rain and how beautiful her eyes looked. A stormy night alone in a dim place with somebody so sexy. I said listen to the rain. Of coarse my Dad interrupted the moment but I did feel special. Then we started hanging out together."

"I guess that was the end of her and Sara."

"I asked her about that and she told me that if Sara hadn't been such a bitch, we all could have hung out together. She said she had always been pretty non confrontational about all the drama because she didn't really have any strong feelings about anybody one way or the other. She said that I was the first person that she had met that she felt like she had to actually make a stand for. All of a sudden somebody really mattered and that somebody was me. Then you brought up the gay thing.

At first I was confused, embarrassed, didn't know what to do. All of a sudden it hit me that my feelings for Katie were more than friendship and I didn't know accept it. I didn't know what to do so I shut her out. That led to her note. She said it was driving her crazy that all at once we went from best friend to nothing overnight and her feelings for me were more than that. My feelings for her were more than that too but I had no idea what the extent of those feelings was. I told you about what happened in the attic that day. Of course you tried to tell me all along but I was clueless." Jessie said with a sigh.

"Jess it wasn't hard to see how you two felt about each other. It just took ya'll a while to figure it out for yourselves. You and Katie are so much better together. I don't see how you can spend so much time apart. Is this a visit? After all this time I don't see either one of you with someone else. I don't think you try. You've got friends, you've got some amazing work associates but you don't seem to be close to anyone else. What's up with you two?" Grace asks.

"This is going to sound like the dumbest thing you have ever heard Grace, but we have never said goodbye. It's the same thing as the way we end every one of these shows we do. If I don't see you sooner I will see you Same Time Next Year. Regardless of where we have been we always see each other once a year."

"That's not dumb Jessie, but I don't understand. How can you not say good bye after all the times you have been apart?"

"That's the point Grace; even thousands of miles have never really kept us apart. We have such a strong connection. That all started when we moved to Australia. You saw what a wreck I was. Some how I drew strength from her. She told me that she wasn't going to say goodbye to me. Katie told me that if we said goodbye it would be like saying there was never any US to start with and it might as well be over.

We've said goodnight, until tomorrow and a hundred other ways of see you later but never good bye since then. It all sounded so stupid at the time. She said we were just teenagers starting out. We still had college and life to experience. So the hell with goodbye and let's get on with it. Some time we have to share ourselves with other in order to share each other.

We were at the airport leaving for Australia the first time. I'll never forget this as long as I live. Katie put her forehead against mine and asked me in a soft voice, do you remember that day in the attic when I said I didn't want anything you didn't want? I nodded yes."

"Do you want to be miserable because of circumstances we can't control?"

I shook my head no.

"Well then, let's be happy knowing we love each other.

Let's be happy knowing we'll be together again.

Let's be happy knowing that one day we will make our own decisions about how we will be apart or together. This isn't easy for me either, but is that something you would want?

All I could do was nod my head yes. Then she kissed me and said Me too."

I asked her "Katie, how did you so wise all of a sudden?"

She said, "Well I am almost a senior aren't I?" And flashed me her famous smile.

"Jess you know how I feel about you two. Katie has been like a sister to me too over the years. It hurts me to see my sister and one of my best friends so out of sorts." She said as she held Jessie's hand again.

About this time a nurse came over to them and said that the staff had moved Miss Singer and could they meet the doctor on the third floor.

ICU

"MS. Sammler, I am Dr. Ford. We want to keep Ms. Singer here at least over night for observation. Her vital signs have all stabilized and her condition is ok considering the pounding she took from that horse. We now have to wait for the swelling to go down on her head and hopefully she will regain consciousness soon. Until then all we can do is wait. I can allow one in at a time."

"Thank you doctor, we will let the others know. Grace why don't you head on back to the horse park and see where we are for the start of things tomorrow and if you don't mind coming back later to spell me if I need it?" Jessie asks her.

"Are you sure, because I don't mind staying."

"I know Grace, but this was all unexpected. If you can tie up any loose ends and send Zoe over later then you and Eli can come back and sit for a while. Hopefully this won't take long and we can move her to a private room." She says as they walk out towards the exit.

"Ok, call me with any news."

"I will." And gives her a hug as she leaves.

Jessie walks back towards the small room filled with monitors and thinks back to a time when her own mother was laying in a hospital bed after getting run over by a car. She felt no guilt this time, but she wasn't fifteen this time and didn't feel like the weight of the world was on her shoulders anymore. Yet there was no less worry or love in the room either.

Katie lay in the hospital bed attached by some tubes and wires to the machines on the shelf over the bed. Her head was wrapped in a fresh bandage and her left arm had a splint wrapped with gauze. Her breathing was steady and she had a peaceful look on her face.

Jessie bends over the bed and gave her a kiss on the forehead and whispers "It's gonna be all right sweetie, we're going to take good care of you. You can't go far because you know the rules. You didn't say good bye." She says and then settles into a chair next the bed.

Meanwhile back at the arena, Zoe has gone over to the exhibit hall where Katie has set up her new booth. She starts taking the covers off of the tables and as the most awesome sight unfolds before her eyes they start to cloud up with tears.

"Oh my God! Oh my God." She says transfixed by what she sees. She grabs her radio and calls Eli. "Can you get over here to exhibit hall? You are not going to believe what Katie has over here."

"Zoe I'm on my way. This must be good for you to call me like this." He says as he jumps in a golf cart.

When he arrives at the hall and goes in to where Zoe is waiting, his phone rings and he answers with a quick hello.

"Hey, it's me. I'm on my way back. Katie is in the ICU for now. Jessie is with her and will call with any news. About all we can do now is wait." She says pulling up to a red light.

"All right Grace We'll probably be at the exhibit hall when you get here. Zoë is yammering about whatever it is Katie set up earlier. Be careful and I'll see you when you get here." he says as he hangs up.

As he enters the large room that holds the booth exhibits he sees Zoe excitedly waving him over.

"Eli you are not going to believe this." She says as he walks up.

"Oh my God."

"That's what I said. Katie thought of everything. Jessie's going to shit when she sees this."

"You're right about that. This is like her dream place. I've heard her talk about something like this before when we were wishful thinking one day."

"I know, she has talked about it before, but how did Katie get all these details?"

"You know Katie, she has a photographic memory. She always said she wished she could get rid of all the useless stuff in her head to make room for the good things." She said, "But this has been years in the making. Some of this stuff up here was talked about years ago at the old barn outside of Evanston where I learned how to ride."

"Let's cover this back up. Grace can see it later but I don't want anyone talking about this until Katie is up and around.

SOMEWHERE IN THE DEEP RECESSES OF KATIE'S BRAIN:

A young girl is dancing and twirling through the hallways of a dark school. As she rounds a corner and comes into sight of a classroom she stops. She looks in the window of the door and checks out her reflection.

"Cool, I'm sixteen again. I wonder what's up with that."

"Hello Miss Singer, would you care to join us?"

feedback please


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The Barn: Part 1

That spring after Jake and Tiffany's wedding, Rick's job in Australia was confirmed. There was no specific end date for the project, but Rick had to report the first week of June.

Surprisingly Grace was the only one that made the first trip over with Rick besides Sam his partner. Lily stayed to get Zoe settled at her dads for the summer and make arrangements for moving. Eli's new job at the music company was working out well and he decided to make an extended visit at Christmas time. He kept his garage apartment at the manor until they decided on final plans for the house.

Zoe wanted to spend time with her baby sister and Tiffany was grateful for any help she could give while being there over the summer. Jake was happy to have a second chance at happiness and started to settle down with his new family. Having Zoe for the summer was an added bonus.

Grace on the other hand couldn't wait to be gone. She considered her past year in school a disaster and Australia was far enough away. Her accomplishments were actually quite remarkable considering. Her acting abilities and writing continued to flourish and she made the Honor Roll. After the Dimitri fiasco she developed a serious dose of lack of self confidence. Getting away was something she needed and summer break didn't get there soon enough.

Judy still had Booklovers to run. The adjoining restaurant was starting to hold its own and showed real promise. She was breaking in a new manager for the bookstore side and once the initial startup phase for the hotel in Sydney was over she planned on spending some time with Sam to see which direction their relationship was going.

Karen's rehabilitation was coming along nicely as was her budding relationship with Henry. With the support of her children she felt like she had a new lease on life. Jessie moved back into her old room for the summer. Realizing that they would be apart for at least a half a school year their relationship grew a little more intense, but in a good way. They were able to share each other and grow as mother and daughter.

As for our two heroes, Eli pretty much had it right. They might not have been physically connected at the hip but the bond between them was definitely growing stronger. When Katie decided she was going to take Jessie to the stable she knew that was something they could do together and have fun with. What she didn't know was the profound effect it would have on so many people.

Katie got out of her car, went to the front door and rang the bell.

"Hi Mrs. Sammler, is Jessie ready to go?"

"I think so Katie Come on in." she said as she closed the door. "Jessie, Katie's here. Big plans today?"

"You should come with us; they say the horse's rhythm of walking is like the natural rotation of your hips."

"Maybe one day. I'll talk to Henry about it. Thanks for asking" she says as Jessie comes walking down the stairs.

"Hi Billy."

"Hey Billy!"

"I've got a change of clothes in my backpack; do you think I'll need anything else?"

"Just comfortable walking shoes. You might not need the clothes but you never know what you might step in around a barn." Katie laughs.

"That was a crappy joke Billy"

"Thank you Billy. Let's go. Bye Mrs. Sammler."

"Bye Mom."

"By girls, call me and let me know when you are coming home."

"OK." They said together.

So they settled in for the half hour ride to the stable.

"Jess your awful quiet over there, is there something wrong?" Katie asks.

"No, Katie it's just that I'm nervous and I don't want to look stupid in front of you because I don't know what to do." She says with a frustrated look on her face.

"I understand, and don't worry. I want to show you around, check the place out, meet a few people, meet a horse or two and you don't have to feel like you have to impress anyone. This might not be something you want to do. I think you will like the place, and the people her are friendly and helpful for the most part. So relax and save that stress for something important, ok?"

"Oh all right. How come you never told me about this before? I mean about you riding horses and all?"

"That's all part of the Billy mystique." She says with a grin. "I quit riding up her after my freshman year. I came up a few times the summer before I met you. It's no secret; it just never came up or seemed important until now."

They rode in silence for a little while. The radio was low and each girl was in her thoughts.

"Katie, you did call ahead and let these people know we were coming didn't you?" Jessie asked with a little apprehension.

"Jessie Sammler, would I just show up unannounced somewhere? I am shocked"

"You have a serious track record of just showing up. Shall I start counting?" As they both burst into laughter.

"For your information Billy, I did call and let them know we were coming because I wanted to check and make sure that there weren't a lot of activities. A slow day is the best time to come out and get acquainted. You would be surprised at how busy a place like this gets." She said.

After a few more minutes they pulled into a driveway. There was a house off to the right with a pond behind it. As they drove down the tree lined drive Katie slows down so that Jessie can take it all in. The driveway goes right through the middle of two large pastures and as they come to the top of a small hill off in the distance she could see a barn with an open arena to one side.

Katie remembered her first time topping that hill and looking at this sight and though she had been there many times before it was still rather breathtaking.

"Stop!" Jessie exclaims.

Katie hits the brakes and brings the car to a stop.

"This place looks so awesome! Thank you for bringing me here Katie, I love it."

"Slow down Billy, we haven't even gotten to the good part yet, but I know how you feel it's pretty cool isn't it?"

"Thank you," Jessie says quietly and reaches over and gives her a hug. "I'm surprised I haven't seen any drawing of this place before."

"Oh I have few sketches" Katie said "Come on, lets go see where you fit in this picture."

But before they started out again Katie had one more thing to say.

"Jess I don't how this will go, but I just wanted to share this place with you. I think I was about Zoë's age when I first came out here with my oldest brother. It's always been my special place. I've been selfish I suppose, but believe it or not you are the first person I have ever brought here. This is one of those things I don't think I'll ever outgrow. But I'm ready to share this place now and I'm ready to share you too."

"What?. Wait a minute; I don't know if I like the sound of that."

"It's ok, all I mean is that as we get older we are going to find times that we may not be able to be as we are now. In 92 days you leave for Australia. Next year I go to college. I have accepted the fact that the person I love more than anything is going to be on the other side of the world. We have the summer. I want to share everything with you I can. I know I'm rambling. I'll shut up now."

"I know how you feel Billy. It's not easy is it?" Jessie said softly.

"No, it's not easy Billy, but I think it will be ok."

Then they shared a kiss.

**Meanwhile at the Hospital 12 years later**

"Hey Jessie, I got her as quick as I could. How is she?" Zoë asked as she sat down beside Jessie.

"Thanks for coming. I came down for some coffee, would you like some?"

"Not right now. What are you not telling me?"

"They have her in ICU for now to make sure she is stable. It's easier to monitor in there. They said that they would move her in a little while, because all of her vitals were pretty good when she came in. I can't tell you what I don't know, but I feel so helpless right now." She said in a frustrated tone.

"We can go up there now and you can look in on her."

When they got to unit upstairs Jessie stopped outside the door.

"She's in there; they let us in one at a time. I'll wait here."

"Thanks. I won't be too long."

Zoë went in and stood next to the bed. Katie had a peaceful look on her face, but it was hard for her to see her like this. She ran her ran her finger along Katie's arm and spoke softly to her.

"Katie, I don't know if you can here me or not. They say that sometimes people in your condition are aware of others in the room with them. I'm going to believe that, since it's you we're dealing with. I know you and Jessie are like telepathic when you're near each other. But I also know how much you care about other people.

You've always treated me like a sister and I just wanted you to know how much I care about you. Jessie's outside and you won't be alone here no matter how long it takes. I'm going to go now and see how long before we get to move you to a better room. I'll be close if you need me."

She gave Katie a kiss on her bandaged forehead and walked out to where Jessie was waiting.

"Jess, why don't you go back to the hotel and freshen up. Eli already called your Dad and Lily. They are going to get a hold of the Singers and your mom. Grace is checking on things at the arena and I will stay here until you get back. If they get ready to move her before you get back I'll call you, Ok?"

Both girls were teary eyed and neither really wanted to budge, but Jessie saw the sense in being fresh and there could be some long nights ahead, not the kind of nights Jessie was hoping for either. She gave Zoe a hug and started for the elevator.

"I'll call you when I get ready to head back, if I haven't heard any thing by then. If I have time I might have to go over to the arena and let everyone know what's going on, but believe me I won't leave you alone any longer than I have to." She said as she got in and punched the lobby button.

She walked out towards the lot where Zoe had parked the rental car and paused behind a bench. She stood there for a moment and gripped the back of it for support. All of sudden she felt the weight of all that had transpired recently and started to cry uncontrollably. Her shoulders were shaking and she covered her eyes with her hands. The tears were flowing freely and she didn't understand the overwhelming thought of grief that flooded her emotions.

Katie was going to be all right. She knew that in her heart. Then why the feeling of dread? That's all that really mattered wasn't it? Or was it? The range of emotion that went through her at that moment was almost more than she could take.

And then two things happened simultaneously; calm enveloped her very being as a hand was placed on her shoulder. Then a melodious voice softly spoke to her.

"I'm not sure what the trouble is baby girl, but why don't you sit on that bench for a spell and collect yourself."

Without thinking she moved around the bench and had a seat. A sparkling white handkerchief was handed to her and she began to wipe the tears from her face.

What happened next was hard to describe.

As she was wiping her face she looked up and for once in such a long time total confusion set in. What she saw in front of her was something so out the ordinary that she almost started laughing and then reality set in as she realized exactly who she was looking at. This was someone that had been described to her a long time ago. How Jessie even remembered that was incredible.

"How can you be here?" she asked in disbelief.

"I get around little lady".

"You look just like she described you all those years ago."

"I hope that's a good thing."

"How can this be good? You are a figment of Katie's imagination!

Tbc


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The Barn: part 2

Jessie looked into the sunglasses of a strange looking man standing before her. They weren't mirrored but they were dark and the sun was at such an angle that she could see her reflection in them. He was not a tall person but wasn't short either. At first glance you would have thought he was just another homeless person about to ask for a dollar. He was wearing plaid shorts that went slightly below the knee, a very loud Hawaiian shirt with sleeves to his elbows, a pair of sneakers that were scuffed but not too well worn and white socks to mid calf. He was in need of a shave but other wise looked clean. His hair was silver, about shoulder length and he wore a base ball cap.

He flashed a dazzling white smile at her and asked "Who is Katie and how could I possibly be a figment of her imagination?"

"Katie is my on again off again girlfriend of the last twelve years and it was about that long ago when she told me about you."

"And who might you be young lady?"

"My name is Jessie and were you in Chicago about twelve years ago?"

"Now that is entirely possible. But it would have been in the spring or summer, don't much care for that cold weather or that wind blowing off the lake."

"Do you sometimes sing in parks and places like that?"

"Sometimes."

"Katie told me about a person she saw on her way to Starbucks one day. She had been shopping for something or another and had a few dollars left over and was going to get a latte when she heard some music coming from one of those little open spots by the mall. Now you have to understand something, Katie can't lie to me. But she can exaggerate with the best of them. Sometimes her imagination gets away with her and then she will believe it's so."

"And this has to do with me how?"

"She told me about how she saw you one day and if it hadn't been such a special day when she told me I would have forgotten the whole thing. And I even laughed at her and told her that nobody could look the way she described you and here you stand"

"And here I sit, and Katie is up in that hospital unconscious." and with that Jessie buried her face in the handkerchief and started crying again.

Before she knew it he was sitting beside her on the bench and once again that calm feeling swept over her as he put his arm around her shoulders.

"Everything's going to be all right if you want it to be, but if I'm a part of this story why don't you tell me about it.

"The thing is you have to know Katie. Sometimes it takes her 5 minutes of talking to say yes or no. And she's not that complicated a person, it's just her way. Other times she sees right through a problem in no time flat and moves on to something else while everybody else is left scratching their heads at such a simple solution. I know I'm rambling on, I guess I'm starting to sound just like her."

"Katie is not a religious person. If you were to ask her about religion that's a topic you won't get much conversation from her. She'll tell you her opinion, but she won't argue any certain point. She just says that she has her own personal relationship with God and that's good enough for her. It's not for some person high on a pulpit to judge."

"But getting back to where she told me about you, we were in high school and on summer vacation visiting a stable that she had ridden at and………………..

**The Barn 12 years earlier**

When they got to the barn they parked and went into the office

"Well as I live and breathe, if it isn't Katie Singer. And looky here, the most popular girl in school does have a friend. Come here and give me a hug and then introduce me to this vision of loveliness." Said a short middle aged woman.

Katie bent down and hugged the woman and said "Hi Maggie"

"My my how tall you have gotten girl." As they hugged each other Katie said "It's good to see you Maggie"

As they let go of each other Katie told her "This is Jessie, Maggie. She is a very special person in my life."

Jessie held her hand out and Maggie took it. Then she pulled her into a hug and told her, "We do hugs here girl, get used to it."

"I'll try Maggie; it's good to meet you"

"I'm glad Katie brought you, maybe if you like us out here she will grace us with her presence more often."

"I already like it out here, I just hope you don't get tired of me" she said laughing.

"A pretty face like yours is good for business out here, Hang around long enough and you'll be drawing a crowd like some of the others who will remain nameless."

"Maggie don't start with that again."

'Well I'm just saying…"

"Ok, tell us what's new. Does the lady still rent the back pasture for the rescue horses?"

"Yes and a friend of hers is running a program for troubled teens. They come out a few days a week and do some chores and exercise a horse or two. This is temporary until their own facility is done, but they have run into some snags about permits, government funding and whatnot. So they come out here and hang out. We haven't had any trouble so I guess it's working for them."

"Do they ride at all?" Katie asks.

"One girl signed up for lessons, some of them are just doing their hours and a couple of others are sitting on the fence. It's going to be interesting to see how some of them turn out.

"We'll try and stay out of the way then".

"No it's not like that. I made it very clear that my operation was not to be interfered with in any way. People pay a lot of money for their kids to take lessons in a safe environment and that won't change. You are a part of this barn Katie, and if Jessie wants become part of us then she is welcome. Here comes one of them now. Haley is a sweet girl whose parents got divorced recently and she fell into some bad company. She didn't actually do any thing bad but she was guilty by association. Anyways, she signed up for lessons and will be done with her service before the new place is open."

"There is nothing pretty about divorce" Jessie says quietly.

"You speak from experience?" Maggie asks.

"Yes maam. My mom and dad got divorced. I don't know if I'm over it or not but I have learned to deal with it and realize it wasn't my fault."

"Oh I'm so sorry Jessie" Maggie says. "I hope that wasn't the wrong thing to bring up."

"No it's ok. My dad is remarried and my mom has a boyfriend and I have stepsisters and we're all one big happy family now." She says laughing.

The door opens and Haley walks in.

"Hi Maggie, I know I'm early but I can get started on something until the others get here."

"That's ok, Come on in I want you to meet someone" Maggie says.

"Haley this is Jessie. She's new out here and I want you to make her feel at home. And this is Katie. She was one of my best riders a few years ago." Maggie states proudly.

Jessie shakes hands with Haley and says nice to meet you and Haley does the same. Then Haley turns to Katie and asks "Are you Katie Singer?"

"Yeah but you can't believe everything you hear about me." She says as she shakes hands.

"And just what have you heard about me?" Katie wants to know.

"Well you are on Maggie's Wall of Fame. And that training video you made was really cool. We have to watch it as beginners and believe me it's been a big help.

Katie has a what are you talking about look on her face and looks towards Maggie.

"Haley, Katie has been gone for a while would you care to take her and Jessie for a little tour of the barn and show them some of the new things we have going now?" Maggie says as she decides to duck out the side door with a be back in a minute wave and a wink towards Jessie.

Jessie caught on and took Katie by the hand and told her "I think we should let Haley lead the way".

They went out to the barn and it was clear to see that there had been some additions to the Tack room. Not only had it been expanded but a change room and shower was new. On the far wall away from the door was a plastic enclosed case with ribbons and awards and pictures set up under a wall full of pictures.

Next to the case was a small TV with a video player hooked up to it.

Jessie was looking at the case while Katie just took in all that was new here.

"Katie you never told me you were such an accomplished rider. Look at all these ribbons. You don't have any of this stuff at home."

"Jess these were just little pony shows and everyone gets ribbons at these things" Katie said trying to brush it off as no big deal.

"Besides, the horse did all the work. All I had to do was sit up straight and hold on."

"Katie was pretty good at Just holding on" A voice said from behind them.

"Christy!" Katie yelled and turned quickly in the direction of the new presence in the room.

A young woman with auburn hair and blue eyes stood by the doorway and held her arms out for the embrace Katie gave her.

"It's so good to see you. Maggie said you might not be here today but we came anyway." Katie said as she let the other girl loose from her hug.

"I had a private lesson cancel at another barn and came in early. Mom told me you were coming and I haven't seen you in forever. Look at you, you are taller than I am now." She said with a big smile on her face clearly glad to see the younger girl.

"I had a growth spurt last summer. All of a sudden I didn't have to look up at everyone." Katie said with a big grin on her face. "Jessie's little sister now has the title of short stuff."

"And would this be Jessie? Mom said you were bringing someone."

"Yes it is. Christy it is my utmost pleasure to introduce to you my favorite person in the world Miss Jessie Sammler" she says with a flourish and a bow. "But I call her Billie"

"Well Miss Jessie Billie it is indeed a pleasure" Christy say also with a bow.

"First hugs now bows" Jessie muttered under her breath. and then said "the pleasure is all mine I'm sure" with a dazzling smile.

"Did Katie tell you she was my first student?"

Jessie gives Katie a sideways glance and then looks back to the older girl and says "Up until recently I didn't even know Katie could ride much less be as good as all this shows. I guess she didn't want to make me feel bad when I told her my dream of living on a ranch and she had already done all this." She said while gesturing towards the wall.

"Well that's our Katie. No matter how hard she worked on something she never went out of her way to show someone up"

Looking a little uncomfortable Katie broke into the conversation "Christy when did you do all of this? I think this is really great the way you can come in and tack up and change and clean up all in the same place now."

"Progress you know. Spending as much time out here as we do made it cost effective as Dad says'

Jessie gave a laugh and said "That sounds like my dad."

"I didn't realize you had this many pictures. And what's this about a training video. Haley said something about showing beginners a video and I'm in it. I don't remember that."

"You don't remember Maggie's Angels? Katie Singer I am shocked."

"Wait a minute Christy, I remember that. I also remember that was no training video. And I also don't think you would be dumb enough to show that to anyone much less students who want to learn how to ride. We were goofing off that day."

"Well through the beauty of editing Kelly and I were able to actually make something of all that goofing off. Haley if you will please."

Haley went to the video player and punched a button. The screen showed an overview of the property and the zoomed in on the riding rink. A young girl was putting a horse through its paces and then the scene shifted to the front of the barn itself.

Standing in front of the office was Christy and another girl who was drop dead gorgeous.

"Hi, I'm Christy and this is my friend Kelly. We are with the assistance of some of our students going to introduce you to some basic things you will need to know about riding."

The scene shifted to a younger Katie walking towards the camera. Even then she commanded the attention of whoever was in the room. This wasn't lost on Jessie as she watched.

"My name is Katie Singer. Today we will show you an easy way to tack up and ride."

The scene went to an older version of the tack room.

"Haley, please fast forward this to the riding sequence. I don't think we need to bore Jessie with mindless tips that she probably already knows."

When the video started up again you saw Katie leading a horse towards the camera. She stops and says "Don't' ever be afraid to ask for help if it is available. My friend Kelly is going to help me show you how use a mounting block."

When they had the block in position and Kelly held the horse while Katie mounted its back Jessie could see the adoration that Katie had for the older girl. After she was on the horse Christy took over the talking part. She led through walking, trotting, posting, and then came the part will ever be the bane of Katie at the Barn.

"Katie will now demonstrate the perfect post and trot" Christy said. And the way she said it with such conviction you knew it would be so.

Katie rode that horse with authority and they moved as one. Most riders were jerky or it took them a minute to get the rhythm of the horse but Katie was smooth and needed no time to adjust. Her up and down movements were fluid and you could see by the look on her face that she was in a place of contentment just moving with the horse.

Jessie was standing next to Katie and she put her hand on Katie's arm while they watched.

Katie looked like the last place she wanted to be was watching this right now but a squeeze by Jessie's hand relaxed her and they watched the rest of the video.

"You weren't kidding about the editing on that thing. You actually made me look halfway decent." Katie said.

"There is no amount of editing can ever take away how you looked on that horse. That was all you kiddo." Christy said.

"Katie that was amazing" Jessie said softly.

"Well the horse did all the work, and besides I had a good teacher. By the way Christy what happened to the original video?" Katie asks. "I don't know where all this came from but the original was just a joke and was nothing like this."

"Mom's got the video. She found it when they were cleaning up to make space for all this." She says as she waves her arm across the room. "It was her idea to put together a little portfolio for newcomers and that's what we have so far"

"Looks like Maggie's Angels have come a long way." Katie said "How's Kelly doing these days?"

"Kelly is in Europe right now. Her dad had a conference to attend about some kind of International Finance and somehow being daddy's little girl she managed to talk him into taking her with him. She'll be back in time for camp though. I saw your name on the list with a question mark next to it. Are you in this year?" She asked.

"I don't know. Jessie is moving at the end of summer and I wanted to spend as much time as I could with her" Katie said in a sad voice.

"Katie I know how you feel. Maybe you can talk Jessie into coming on board for camp. You guys can have the bunkhouse for the week and that will save a lot of back and forth. But let me know soon. I have to schedule for counselors and helpers."

"How old are the campers this year?" Katie asked starting to brighten up a little.

"Ten, eleven and twelve. Helpers are thirteen and up and you would still be the youngest counselor. We are fully booked with a lot of beginners so it's going to be busy."

Katie turned towards Jessie with a big smile on her face.

"Don't answer right this minute Billie but we can do this." Katie said and then took Jessie by the hand and said "Let's go look at the rest of the barn. There is still more to see."

As tour guide Haley opened the door to the barn and with a sweeping motion of her hand she said "Right this way ladies."

"Katie, can you tell me about Maggie's Angels?" Jessie asked.

Haley chimed in also. "I've heard that around here too. What was that all about?"

"All right, I knew I was going to have to tell Jessie because we have no secrets. Haley when I was a little younger than you I started coming out here with my older brother. Kelly and Christy were best friends in school and did a lot of shows together. Maggie used to take them all over for horse shows. After a lesson I would sit and watch them ride and they were amazing. I couldn't think of anything I wanted to do other than be like them. They were so cool. When they saw that I was serious about riding and not some little Pony Princess they let me tag along. And by that I mean they let me follow them around and didn't tell me to get lost.

I wanted to be just like them. I mean all you have to do is look at them. They are smart; they are drop dead gorgeous, and fun to be around. And yes Jessie to answer your question I did have a crush on Kelly. I would have done anything for her. Those two taught me so much. When you get to know them better you'll know what I am talking about. It wasn't always about riding with them. They seemed to know early on that to get somewhere that balance was the key and that you had to be well rounded."

"How did you know she was going to ask you that?" Haley asked.

"She didn't have to ask. I knew what she was thinking at the time when we were watching the video. I haven't seen that in a while myself but the look on my face was so obvious. You see I grew up with brothers and although I had plenty of girl friends in school this was totally different. They taught me so much and I will never be able to repay that. Maggie told me that the way to do that was to share what you have and pass on what you can to those willing to receive. I'm still learning that part. One thing I know for sure is that you can't force things on people and expect them to like it. OK Jess I know I'm rambling again. Back to Maggie's Angels. One Saturday I came out to see a new horse that was going to be boarded here. The lady that owned it was pregnant and had to stop riding until she delivered her baby so Maggie took it for a few months. Christy was going to take care of exercise and feeding because this was a high dollar horse that you just didn't take lightly. Well the trailer got here early and Maggie and Christy had unloaded the horse and put him in the round pen to stretch out and get sort of used to the place.

Kelly showed up right after I did and she had a video camera with her. She wanted to do some filming for a class she had in school. She had Maggie come out to the front over there where the gate is and start the camera. Then she told Christy and Me to get up on the top of the fence. There we were with me in the middle of these two awesome girls. Kelly started it off.

"I'm Kelly."

Then I said "I'm Katie"

"I'm Christy"

And all together we said "And we are Maggie's Angels!"

Then we all jumped off the fence and got into the Charlie's Angels pose. I don't think any of us knew any karate moves but we looked good doing it. Then Maggie yelled "Cut" and we all started laughing so hard. Well we went out to the rink and filmed some riding and the Kelly wanted to get some outside shots without anybody in them. You see Maggie would call you angel until she got to know you and one day I asked her why she didn't call me angel any more and that's what she told me. Then she said but you will always be my angel. Well Kelly heard her say that and said I'm an angel too. Then Christy said "what about me, aren't I an angel too?"

"You are all Maggie's Angels" She said "I just wish you would act like it more often."

"And that's the story of Maggie's Angels. Of course I got teased unmercifully about it for weeks on end but that day was worth it. Any way that was kid stuff"

"Katie you never cease to amaze me" Jessie said.

"Jessie, that's why I brought you out here so that you could know this part of me. If I never ride again I will have fond memories of getting the chance to do so. But I get to pass this on to you like Maggie said. And we will make our own memories here."

Jessie and Katie had a way of tuning everybody around them out and this was one of those times. It wasn't intentional when it happened and most of the time they weren't aware they did it but usually it was Grace or Tad that would bring them back to the world of everyone else as Zoe once put it.

Poor Haley wasn't sure what was going on but she coughed rather loudly and said "I'm going to have to join my group here shortly, do you guys want to go on without me?" she asked in a kind of disappointed way.

Jessie immediately picked up on the tone of her voice and said "Haley, we plan on spending the day out here so why don't you get your thing done and come and get us. I'm sure we won't get too far away. I understand you and I have a lot in common so maybe we can talk later if you want to."

"Really? You would do that? Awesome! OK. Well I'm going to go, but I'll see you in a little while." She said excitedly.

Just then at the other end of the barn a young boy burst through the swing door. He was running from someone and screaming at the top of his lungs.

"Help me! Save me!"

Jessie and Haley didn't know what to do.

Katie opened an empty stall door and motioned them to step inside and winked.

"Andrew! Over here, quickly now, we'll hide you behind this door."

Then she swept him up in her arms as he was running for all he was worth and they slipped into the stall just as someone came into the barn after him yelling "Come back here you little retard. I'll get you for this!"

"Oh great" Haley said "that's Quinn and I'm sure her posse is not far behind her."

"And Quinn is….?" Katie asked

"They are part of the group that comes out here from that program I'm in. Quinn thinks she is a tough girl and those other kids follow her around like little dogs. It makes me sick to think I was like that at one time. This place was the best thing that ever happened to me. Maggie has been really good to every one of the people that come here and I can't stand to think what a waste of time it is for some of them to be here just taking up space when there are others who would give anything to be here."

"Ok Haley let me handle this." Then she bent down and holding the little boy by the shoulders she said "Andy, look at me. I can't save you unless you tell me why she is after you."

"Hair bow". He said looking at the ground.

"You took her hair bow? Andy you know better than that"

"It was all alone no one there. I picked it up to look and then she hollered at me"

"And then you were off to the races, I get it."

Right about that time a girl of about 15 came up to them. Before she could say anything Katie held up the hair bow and said "Looking for this?"

"Yeah that little bas..."

"Hold it right there" Katie said. "I'm going to give you one chance to rethink your wording there."

While Katie was talking two girls and a boy walked up behind the other girl giving her some courage.

"And just who do you think you are? I can see you're with Haley the suck-up." She said sneering at the younger girl.

"I am Katie Singer and this is Jessie Sammler."

"Oh little miss perfect post and trot. We had to sit through that crappy video. How lame can you get?" she said looked at her friends. They grinned back at her.

"What you didn't see were the round kicks and how big a dent these riding boots can put in a feed bucket. My girl Jessie here is a Black Belt in Tae Kwan Do so that qualifies her for Maggie's Angels." Katie said as she winked at her. "Looks like we might get a little more action than breaking boards today."

Jessie had been quiet up to this point but she saw the game Katie was playing and decided to join in. Haley looked from one to the other not saying anything but took a step back.

"All right Billie, a little exercise won't be too bad but if any blood gets on my clothes this time you are paying the cleaning bill." She said.

"Andrew you started this but we will finish it for you. What do you say?" Katie said to the youngster.

"Sorry"

"Good enough. Haley I want you to take him back to the office and wait there for us. If there is going to be any trouble I don't want you around it"

"But there are more of them" she said.

"It doesn't seem fair does it? There are only four of them. Hardly worth the effort." Katie said dismissively. "Go on, we'll be along shortly."

Haley took Andrew by the hand and walked back towards the office at the other end of the barn.

Turning back to Quinn and her posse Katie stood at her full height and looked down at her. Jessie stepped up beside her and started looking at the others individually while cracking her knuckles.

One of the girls behind Quinn nervously asked "You can break boards?"

Jessie gave her an ice blue stare and then answered "yeah, boards are ok for practice and warming up." Then she looked over at the boy who hadn't said a word yet and looked like he would rather be somewhere else at the moment. "Problem is, boards don't hit back. Nope, no challenge there. I like breaking noses better."

tbc


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 -- Coma

_"Hello Miss Singer, would you care to join us?_

_"Oh crap that doesn't sound so good." Katie says to herself. "Here I am dancing around a place I haven't been to in forever, dreaming that I'm sixteen again. It's not like I don't have fond memories of back then but a lot has happened since. At least I know that much. And the last time someone asked me that question was a bad day here. Then I wrote that letter to Jessie and things got worse. But things had a way of working out."_

_"I wonder who that voice belongs to. The last time was Dimitri but he is long gone and that doesn't sound any thing like him. I'm not sure I want to go in there right yet. Maybe if I wait long enough they will come looking for me and I'll get to see who it is."_

_"Maybe I'll just wake up and this won't turn into a nightmare. Of course that would be too easy. I have a feeling that there is nothing easy about all of this.Oh man I hope whoever that is doesn't start asking me whole lot of questions. I can't say that I am proud of every decision I have made but I never intentionally tried to hurt any one along the way. Of course they might just be taking a dream survey. Okay, that is so totally stupid even I won't buy that one._

_"I wonder if I'm going to get to play Ground Hog Day. That would be so cool. But only if I get to pick the day. That's gonna be a hard one because I have a lot of favorite DAYS. And nights. Any day with Jessie is a good day. I don't care if she is screaming and throwing things, just being with her is good enough. Believe me I have definitely been without lately, but I think we are going to fix that._

_"Ahh, Costa Rica. Now that whole week was good. Even the airport was a good day .Cooooosta Riiiiiiiiiiica. Fun in the sun, a semi private beach and arms full of Jessie. That's definitely reliveable, but you only get that lucky once. I'll always get to keep the memory though._

_"I can't imagine what someone in a classroom all these years later would want with me. It's not like I haven't learned anything over the years since I've left this place. I know there is plenty more to learn but why here? Are they going to teach me the error of my ways? Are they going to give me a hard time about when I had a WWJD bracelet and asked what would Jessie do? I meant no disrespect, but I don't think in this day and age that Jesus is going to worry about hair and makeup right?_

_"Although I must say that did help my focus on a lot of thing only because I took the time to actually stop and think things through for a change instead of rushing right ahead. Remind me thank Jesus for that one when I say my prayers at night._

_"Okay, let's go back to Ground Hog Day. Or now that I'm thinking about it how about any old day. Or better yet how abut some cool nights, or hot nights. Yeah that's it hot starry nights. I'll never forget that hot starry night before horse camp started that summer before Jessie left for Australia. Man oh man what a night that was. What a way to cap off a really great day. The counselors got to take the barn slaves on a trail ride after setting up for opening day. And then there was an awesome cookout with a really cool sunset going on. And then when it got dark Jessie and I took a blanket out to the back pasture. We laid there and talked for a while. Well we started out talking, But then there was some kissing, yeah that's it talking and kissing. Hot starry nights talking and kissing and……………………………………………_

_tbc_


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 Chapter 6

The Barn: part 3

"So what's it going to be tough girl?" Katie asks with a wicked grin.

"Look, I don't need trouble any more than Haley does" Quinn said.

Jessie gave Katie a glance and nodded.

"All right Jess, I don't think our girl Quinn here is afraid of a fight." Katie said deciding to see if the girl wanted to save a little face in front of her posse. "And since we don't even know these fine young people I don't know if beating each other up is a good way to get acquainted, so why don't you take these three down to the office and bring Haley back up to the round pen. If that's okay with you?" She said looking at Quinn

Quinn looked to the three behind her then looked back to Katie and gave her assent.

In her best hayseed accent Jessie said "Well all right little dogies times a wasting. Let's get a move on, we aint got all day."

As they started away Katie said "You will all get your time with the great and wonderful us, but since Haley and Quinn were here first we will start at the beginning."

That drew a couple of laughs as they drew apart. They walked to the round pen where a horse was being exercised without any words. Quinn seemed a little wary of the older girl and rightly so. Although not afraid of a fight she wasn't sure just how bad she would have gotten her ass kicked by these two and was glad that there was an out. And yet she wasn't sure what she was in for now either.

While standing there Katie handed Quinn the hair bow. She took it and put her hair in ponytail.

"Andrew can be a handful" Katie said. "We can start over if you'd like."

Katie could see the storm of mixed emotions on the girls face and could imagine what was running through her head. The If I's were running rampant. If I'm nice she'll think I'm a pussy. If I'm sarcastic she'll send me down the hill and probably complain to Maggie and I'll get the boot.

Deciding to break an awkward moment as only Katie can do she looks over at Quinn and asks "What's the dumbest song you ever heard?"

As most people do who don't know Katie, she looks at her with that what does that have to do with any thing look and says "Whaaat?"

"Oh you know, dumb songs. Last night they one of those one hit wonder marathons on TV last night and I just happened to catch the end of it. You know dumb songs that stick in your head and you wonder what made you think of them in the first place and then you're stuck for the rest of the day humming some dumb song?"

"I know what you're talking about but…"

"You'll never ever in million years guess what the number one one hit wonder was. Go ahead and take a stab at it. Unless you saw that show it would never occur to any one that the two top songs on this list were for line dancing."

"Wait a minute, what's that?" Quinn asked a little confused.

"Oh that's what old people do for exercise. If you ever go on a cruise the first thing they try and rope you into is dance lessons, don't go there believe me. Anyway you have a redneck with a huge mullet singing Achy Breaky Heart and two fat Mexican guys dancing to the Macarena."

Right about this time Jessie and Haley were walking towards them up the hill. They could see that the two girls were talking and then all of a sudden Katie spreads her legs sticks out her belly (which is next to impossible because she has no belly, just nice tight abs) and starts swinging her arms.

"Haley lets wait here a minute"

"What in the world is she doing?"

"Katie's having a moment and those are not to be interrupted. I guarantee you that in less time than it took for us to walk up here she will have Quinn eating out of her hand in no time. It won't matter what she thinks about us but her and Katie will be like best friends when we get up there."

"How long have you and Katie been friends, Jessie?" She asked.

"Almost a year, Haley. We met at school when I tried out for the school play."

"That's all? I would have thought it was a lot longer than that. I mean it takes a long time for people to know what the other one is thinking and you two seem to have that going on."

"I can't explain it. Sometimes when we are alone we don't need to talk. And it's comfortable. You know how when you are with somebody and you feel like you have to say something and you can see the look on the other persons face like they want to say something too, well with Katie that has never been a problem. I've never not been able to talk to her except once. She came and found me and we solved our problem with each other and it's been easy ever since. We don't always agree on stuff but then who does right, that would be too weird and boring."

"Haley, you and I seem to have at least one thing in common and if you ever want to talk just let me know. I have found that it really does help to have someone to talk to." She said.

As she finished saying that she and Haley looked towards the other two girls. Quinn was doubled over laughing and Katie was taking a bow for performance of who knows what. As if on queue she looked over at Jessie and gave her a one more moment sign.

"See what I mean, how do ya'll do that. It's like she knew exactly what you were doing."

"Oh stop it, you sound just like Zoe." Jessie said

"Who is Zoe, and I hope that's not a bad thing."

"Zoe is my younger stepsibling. I hope to bring her out here one day and yes that would be a good thing. We used to fight at first but as we got to know each other better we have gotten pretty close. She's always raggin' on me and Katie about stuff like that. She says we have developed a wireless telegraph between our heads whatever that means."

"Yeah, whatever I just think you're lucky to have a friend like that." She said.

"You are right about that Haley, I am lucky and I am very thankful to have a friend as special as Katie." Jessie said.

Meanwhile up on top of the hill Katie was laughing with Quinn and asked her "So, you want to start over"

"Yes, I'd like that."

"Okay good, I'm not going to ask why you are with that program you can tell me about it if you want. Know that I won't judge you by what you've done but what you do from now on. Everyone has their problems and I have more than my share but remember if you need help or want to talk just let me know, all right? Oh and by the way, you were right that was a pretty lame video." Katie said laughing some more.

"Well the video sucked but your riding was really good. I wish I could do that, you were so smooth on that horse." She said wistfully.

"That's what lessons are for. The only way to do that is to practice. I know that when I started out I thought it was going to be easy because Christy and Kelly made it look that way. You should watch them ride sometime, it's amazing." She said as she looked down at Jessie and gave her the nod to come on up.

When Jessie and Haley came to where the other two girls were standing there was a strained silence. Quinn was looking at something on the ground; Jessie and Katie were looking at each other and Haley was looking at the two of them looking at each other as if something earth shattering was going to come forth. What happened was this: Katie told Haley and Quinn to wait there for a minute while her and Jessie talked something over.

"Jess, I know a week is a long time to be out here on short notice but they really do need us for camp. I've done this before and it will be even easier with you here and it will be so much fun. The campers get here in between 8:30 and 9:00 and we each have a group. We start out teaching tack and then we introduce them to the horses and progress from there. Now we can stay here if we want to or get up early and drive. I think we should plan on staying for the first couple of days. And I know I can explain all of this later so can I get a yes for at least the first part?" Katie says as she catches her breath,

"Okay already, I know we can do a few days for sure, But I want to know what's really cooking in that brain of yours. You are thinking so hard I can almost here the gears turning" she said pointing to her own head.

"Do you think Zoe would want to come out?" Katie asked

"Great minds think alike Billie. I was telling Haley that I would like to bring her out here. But isn't she a little old to be a camper?"

"I was thinking more along the line of barn slave" Katie chuckled.

"And what pray tell is that?" Jessie asked.

"Nothing bad mind you, just being a gofer and a do this and do that kinda person."

"Oh I get it, a barn slave!" Jessie laughed.

"Real funny Billie. Look, I think we can do some good here with some of these kids. You've already got Haley hanging on your every word and I think with a little of the right kind of encouragement Quinn will get on board. What do you think" Katie asked.

"Katie sometimes I wonder how that skinny little chest of yours holds such a big heart"

"Hey I'll have you know that my chest is not skinny."

"Maybe you can read minds, because just being here for a short time had me thinking the same thing and what an awesome place to do it. Okay I'm in. When do we start?" Jessie asked.

"Right now. Let's see if we can get these two to get along and then we'll find out our bright idea will fly with Maggie and Christy." Katie said looking toward the two younger girls who were by now fidgeting.

When they got back to the other two girls they looked to the two older girls in anticipation of what might happen next.

"Let's take a walk to the back forty girls, we can sort out a few thing along the way" Katie said. "Before we go any where though I want it understood that we leave all the posturing and crap here in the crap pile." Katie said pointing to the big pile of manure off to the side.

"Haley, do you and Quinn have some kind of history with each other and I'm asking because I don't know." Jessie asked.

Haley looked at Quinn and then looked back at Katie and Jessie before answering. She gathered her thoughts and quietly began to speak.

"Since we are being honest here just let me say that I don't really know Quinn. And I haven't made any effort to get to know her. She has her friends here and I don't want to get involved. It might not be fair on my part to say this but I had enough trouble when I got here and all I wanted to do was fill up my hours and be done with it. They remind me too much of why I am here. Those kids that follow you around remind me of me and my so called friends that left me holding the bag. I am definitely not going down that road again. My problem started when my Mom and Dad got divorced and I got caught in the middle. I thought hanging with the cool kids was the way to go and here I am. So I guess the answer to your question is no, we have no history and I haven't had anything to do with her." She said, surprised at herself for saying so much.

They walked on a little further they came to some woods with a path. Katie was in the lead with Jessie close behind.

"Have either of you been back here before?" Katie asked.

"They don't let us wander much" Haley said.

"They keep us on a tight leash around here" Quinn said.

"I think you will like this little place we're going. If anyone asks where you went just tell them I was showing you around. That way you won't catch any flack about wandering off. So Quinn do you have a problem with Haley?" Katie asks.

Quinn thought for a moment then said "I guess I don't have a problem with her. It's pretty much like she said, we don't know each other. She just reminds me of the teacher's pet always kissing ass. I can't stand that."

Katie let Jessie walk beside her and they gave each other a look. Haley saw the look and said "There they go again."

Quinn said "What are you talking about?"

"Oh they have this telepathic thing going on"

"Great we're walking in the woods with a couple of psychos." Quinn muttered.

With that remark Jessie and Katie both stopped walking at the same time and the other two girls naturally ran into them.

Katie looked over at Jessie and gave her a wink that went undetected by the other two.

"Sorry about that but I just had a thought" Katie said.

"Me too" said Jessie.

"Were you thinking …."

"What I was thinking?"

And together they said "I think I was!"

Haley and Quinn looked at them like they truly were psychotic.

"Okay Billie after you"

"Oh no Billie you go first"

"Okay here's the deal." Katie said "Horse camp starts in about a week and a half. Jessie and I are going to be counselors. I am not sure how many helpers they have signed up and I was wondering if you two would like to help?"

"Of course you would have to find a way to get along with each other. Or better yet you might want to get to know one another. Since the reason you are here may have affected your attitudes a little it might pay off to start over. I don't want to have to knock your heads together for no reason." Jessie said.

"Haley you said you were going to start taking lessons and Quinn you expressed an interest in riding a few minutes ago so what better way to start than at the beginning? By helping the younger kids at camp you get to learn also. It's like a month of free lessons crammed into one week. Camp goes from 9-am until 4-pm. We'll have those campers whipped into shape by day two and our job will be easy. I'll be in charge of arts and crafts, Jess you of course will be in charge of music. Either one of you know how to operate a video camera? We'll work that out later once we have our final crew. And I am getting way ahead of myself, I'll be quiet now. Come on let's go, it's not far now"

As they walked through the woods the other three girls wondered what "IT" was. Katie hadn't said where they were going and since they were new here they had no clue.

A short time later they came to a clearing with a pond in it. Katie looked around and started walking toward an open sided cover. There was a picnic table in front of it and a net hammock hanging between two poles. At the pond itself there was a floating dock with a small row boat pulled up next to it.

"This has changed since the last time I was here" Katie said.

"This is a neat place" Jessie said.

"When we go back don't say anything about up here." Katie told them.

"Why not" asked Haley.

"Because you're trespassing" a deep voice from behind them said. "Now everybody be still."

Then the sound of a rifle cocked and a shot rang out.

tbc


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The Ride

"Damn rats. One of these days I'm gonna…."

"You crazy old man, what are you shooting at and why are you scaring the crap out of my friends?" Katie said rather forcefully.

"Katie is that you?" he asked.

"It's me Mr. Roberts. What in the world are you doing?"

"There's a problem with the dam structure, these big water rats burrow in under the water line and it causes leaks to put it simply." he said.

"Okay, I guess. What's with the rifle, can't you trap them?"

"If you catch them outside and run them off for a while then it's easier to set the traps. Girls you can put your hands down now." He said laughing.

During all of this Haley and Quinn had raised there hands like they were prisoners.

"That's not funny" Haley said

"Yeah, and what did you mean about trespassing?" Quinn asked

"Girls when we were in the woods we crossed over onto Mr. Robert's property. I kind of got ahead of myself with the follow me stuff. We are supposed to let someone know if we are coming over here so we don't get shot at accidentally. This is actually the halfway point for the trail rides we do here and I must say you have really improved this spot." Katie said

"Well we had a good designer Katie."

"Really and who might that be?"

"That would be you young lady." He said smiling.

Katie looked over at Jessie with an I don't know look.

"I'm not sure what you mean, I didn't design anything." She said

"I beg to differ" the older man said, "I have a picture of this place all arranged for entire Gatherings that was drawn in the dirt over there" he said pointing over at the lean to.

"Oh that was just one of those what if things. Christy and Kelly were saying how they would set this up for picnics and I said what if we had a lot of money we could do a whole bunch of things and drew that with a stick. It wasn't much of a design to be honest with you." She said shaking her head.

"The point is that it was a good idea and I think we are off to a pretty good start, don't you think?" he said smiling

"I think what you have done here is awesome. Jessie, last summer the only thing that was here was the boat and about half of that shed. One of these days I will take you for a lazy ride in the flat-bottomed boat." Katie said

"I will hold you to that Billie" Jessie said

"And I will hold you in it Billie" Katie said back to her softly.

And for a moment time stood still for those two as green eyes stared into blue. Jessie and Katie never lost sight of the fact that there were other people around in moments like these; it was just that their focus on each other was so intense that everybody else felt left out of something special.

Somewhere along the line Katie was asked what her favorite color was. She answered by saying that originally her favorite color was green because that was the color eyes she looked into every morning when she got up. That changed after meeting a certain blue eyed blonde because she decided she wanted to wake up to blue eyes looking back at her instead of her green ones in the mirror.

Ah, but we digress. This is not to be one of the legendary staring matches that they have been known to have. They smiled at each other and turned to the business at hand.

"What else has Katie designed for this place" Jessie asked

"Well let's see now" he said as he rubbed his chin "She has an idea about some bathrooms and some other stuff but we decided to wait on that until we got the loan for the movie theatre and shopping mall that goes over on the other side of the pond." He said laughing

"Oh, ha-ha-ha very funny. One day when I'm famous we'll see who gets the last laugh." She said

"Katie, if you and Jessie don't mind we have to get back to the group down there" Haley said.

"I'm sure we'll catch some flack for being late but thanks for bringing us up here." Quinn said

"All right, we can head on back now. Good luck with your critters Mr. Roberts. Jessie and I will be back for camp, we will see you then." She said

"Okay girls, nice to see you. Sorry about the noise."

Walking back to the office was a lesson in patience. There was a lot to be said but no one wanted to go first.

For Haley and Quinn there was a new opportunity at the barn. This was definitely something they both wanted, but weren't sure if one could trust the other.

For Jessie there was a new awakening in her. She felt like she could solve their problems and send them on their way to a better life but knew it wasn't that simple, but also felt that by trying to help would make a difference. This realization opened her eyes to a lot of her own past problems and helped her see solutions for putting some things to rest. The most important thing she gleamed was the good felling she got trying to make a difference no matter how small, so little did she know that by helping others she was helping herself.

Katie on the other hand was feeling a little overwhelmed by all that had happened in such a short period of time. Little did she know the wheels that were set spinning on this day. All she really wanted to do was show Jessie that she knew a little something about horses without showing off and then have a place to hang out that was a little more private. At the time they hadn't made any concrete plans for the summer other than spending as much time together as they could. Things were definitely looking up.

"Uh, Katie I have a question?" Haley said. "If one of us can't go for camp, is that going to mess it up for the other one? I'm pretty sure my mom will let me come but if something happens and I can't go it won't mess it up for Quinn will it?"

"Let's see what Maggie says and we will go from there. Maybe you two can split up your camp time because I know a week is a long time on short notice. What do you think Quinn?" Katie asked

"I doubt I'll be missed around my house, but heaven forbid I have any fun." She grumbled.

So they went back to the office and Maggie said that that the other kids had had gone with the group and that Haley and Quinn should join them.

"Should one of us go with them?" Jessie asked

"No, they will be fine and I think you two have done enough for one day. Now I think maybe you should go do what you came here for. Katie why don't you go find Christy, she went to round you and Jessie a couple of gentle horses you can ride around the property while the rinks are busy. Jessie will be okay here until you get back, I promise." Maggie said and shooed Katie out of the door.

"First of all I want to thank you for what you did out there. That could have gotten ugly real quick. Second, I was wondering if you felt the same way about Katie as she does for you." Maggie asked

Jessie looked at Maggie and smiled, "Is it that obvious?" she said

"What's obvious is the connection you two have. I have known Katie for a few years now and she tends to wear her heart on her sleeve. I thought her world was coming to an end when she said you were leaving at the end of summer"

"My Dad has a contract in Australia starting in September. They offered to move everybody there so I'm going with him for a while any way. My brother is staying and I'm going to miss him and my mom but I just can't see not going. If things don't work out I can come back and live with my mom. His project is scheduled for nine months so I think I can tough it out that long. He's working on a hotel in Sydney so it's not like we'll be stuck in some backwoods or outback or whatever they call it there. I didn't want to go at first, and I still don't want to leave Katie but she said if I didn't go she would so I am going to be happily miserable as Katie says." Jessie said with a sigh.

"Okay, well not to sound too selfish but you don't know how happy it made me when Katie called and asked if she could bring you out here. It's been almost a year since she has been here and although that's not uncommon with high schoolers I didn't think Katie would be gone that long without a visit. I had talked to her a time or two during that time and although she said school was going good and her family was healthy, but she seemed a bit off. We had a good chat last week and she told me a few things about you but she also said that it wouldn't matter what she said about you I would just have to see you in person to understand. After meeting you and seeing the two of you in action I can see what she meant." Maggie said.

Jessie was a little red in the face after all of that and said "well, thanks I think."

"Don't tell her I told you this because she will deny it but what she said was that she had the most amazing best friend that she could share anything with and the only thing that you two haven't done was come out here. I think Katie is finally starting to realize that she didn't have to separate the things in her life that are important because of a difference in priorities. I asked her once about bringing a friend out a few years ago and she me told that her friend at the time took piano lessons when Katie had riding lessons and they would talk about all the things they were going to do and then her friends Dad got transferred to another city and boy here we go again. I'm sorry Jessie; I can see that you and Katie are a lot more than just friends."

"Maggie, I've known you for a short time today, just a few hours in fact, but I feel like I can talk to you about any thing. I know we bring a lot of unnecessary drama around but does it get easier when you are older?" Jessie asked with a helpless look on her face.

"I hate to answer a question with a question but does it look like it gets any easier? Today is just a small part of life around here. We'll talk later Jessie. You go ride with Katie and let yourself relax. I know that everyday that passes is closer to the time you will be leaving but you have to make each day count while you are here and not just for Katie, but for yourself and the others you leave behind".

"Okay, I can't argue with that" Jessie said as she started for the door.

Jessie wanted to say so much more but knew there would be time later for that. As she walked toward the barn where Katie had gone to tack up the horses they were going to ride, she had a smile on her face. Katie was finishing up on the second saddle and looked at her walking toward her.

"I guess by the look on your face you're not going to be mad at me?" she asked

"How could I get mad at something that was so out of your control? Besides, I thought you handled yourself quite well back there. Now can we get on these here horses and mosey on down the trail?" Jessie drawled

"Well I reckon so" She said "Lets mount up over by that fence and then we'll head over to the front. It's a long way around but its easy walking and we are in no hurry."

After they got on their horses and started out there was an easy silence between them. Katie had watched the way Jessie had approached her horse and rubbed her neck and spoke softly to her before getting on. They walked easily out to the road that ran along the fence that divided the property and took to the grassy side.

"I think I like doing this the most" Katie said. "I was always ready for a trail ride."

"That's pretty much how I learned to ride. I never took lessons or did any competition riding. Believe it or not my brother Eli was really good around horses. That seemed like a long time ago. Did you ever think we would be doing this together?" Jessie asked

"It had crossed my mind a time or two. Actually I thought a lot about it after we ditched school that day, but it was more of a romantic setting out west somewhere but who's complaining right?" she said with a laugh

"I find it sort of strange that the more we get to know each other the more we have in common. I mean that in a good way of course." she said.

Katie looked over at Jessie and said "Well, I don't see anything common about it"

They laughed at that for a moment then rode a little further in silence. Katie gave Jessie a sideways glance knowing there was something on her mind but giving her a chance to form her own thoughts without asking. So Katie being Katie did as only she could do and launched into something off the wall.

"Jess, did I ever tell about the day I met Mr. BoJangles?" she asked

"First Billie Holliday and now Mr. BoJangles, what is it with you and these old characters?"

"Well he wasn't the real one, that's just what I thought about when I saw him. This was right after our first kiss in the attic. I wasn't real secure about how you felt about me yet even though I was pretty sure we were on the same page but I was at the mall picking something up for my Mom a few days later. When I got done with what I was doing I started walking across the parking lot to Starbucks to get a drink and I heard some music.

I looked around and there was this guy in a space under a tree playing the blues. That really got my attention.

As I got closer to him I thought it was just some homeless guy begging a dollar, but he had a unique style that's hard to explain. He was a clash of stereotypes. It was like a homeless beach bum skater rock-n-roll dude." Katie said

"Now that's hard to believe" Jessie said

""What's so hard to believe?"

"Its hard to believe you said all that in one breath" Jessie said grinning

"Well it's true, and I wasn't the only one there. Of course it would be hard to track down people I never met but it can be done. Any way back to my fascinating tale; he was singing a song I had never heard before. It was something about a little boy and his mother. I didn't hear the first part of it but he ended it with a bluesy rendition of Jesus Loves Me. I know what you're thinking: Gee Billie what is sooo earth shattering about that? Well let me answer that for you.

I wasn't up front and I wasn't that close but he gave me that feeling that he was singing just for me like I was the only one there. And I will never ever forget how he ended that song. He sang: I know Jesus loves me and then he looked at me and gave me a thousand watt smile and without breaking stride sang and He loves you too. Right then I got this tingly calm feeling and just like that all was good in the world. I tossed my Latte money in his guitar case, said thanks and went along my way." Katie said and then she got quiet.

"Wow. That was some story. And only you could get a what did you call it, a tingly calm feeling? That's such a contradiction. But then so are you in so many ways, and I wouldn't have you any other way" Jessie said

"Oh thank you for that. You have to realize that that was a really hard time for me. We went to that stupid meeting at Dimitri's house and then you ignored me for a few days and then I wrote that note and then you didn't show up for school and all I could think was that I had to see you because not knowing anything was so much worse. I've never been so scared in my life. And then relieved. Scared relief, there's another one for you. And then Mr. BoJangles put my heart at ease a couple of days later" she said as they rode on down the road.

""Katie I don't know what to say. I understand what you are saying but I can't understand your thinking sometimes." Jessie said

And they continued to talk and ride for a while. It was nice outside for a summer day. There was a slight breeze and low humidity. With all that had already happened that day they were enjoying the quiet of the afternoon and the companionship they shared with one another. They came to a point where they let the horses follow the trail as they gazed at each other from their saddles.

And on that note we will allow our two heroes a little privacy as there wasn't much to report after that.

Present Day

"And that's how I heard about you. I used to kid Katie about it sometimes and she would just grin and bear it. But you haven't come up in a long long time and you will have to forgive my reaction to you when you first came up." Jessie said

"Well how can I not forgive you after a story like that? It's nice too be thought of in a positive way sometimes. I hope today leaves you in a better way because I have a feeling your friend Katie is going to be just fine." He said as he stood up.

"I hope so. It really hurts seeing her like this. I remember when my mother got hit by a car how hard that was. That was about 12 years ago and Katie was in pain then too although it was probably more my fault that time. I guess you're her guardian angel here to make her feel better." She said laughing

"Now that's better. It's always better to let those good feelings out too. Let me ask you something. How were you feeling at the time when she told about all that?"

"I felt better a bout a lot of things because so much was happening all at once it seemed like things came together for a while and life was good." She said wistfully looking back.

"And so it shall be again. I've got to be on my way now but remember this Jessie, You have a good heart girl and it might not have been just Katie I was here for in the first place" He gave her that megawatt smile as he turned to leave and she sat there holding his handkerchief.

As she sat there on the bench she began to reflect on what just happened and wondered if she told anyone about it if their reaction would be any different than hers had so many years ago. After a moments thought she figured that the only person who would understand was the only person she would share it with.

And then she felt a tingly calm.

tbc


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Present day

"Hi Grace" Zoe said answering her phone "Jessie just left a few minutes ago to go and freshen up and change. Are you back at the arena?"

"Yes, I got here a few minutes ago. Things have settled down so I think I might go and meet Jessie at the hotel and clean up myself. How is Katie doing?"

"She has stabilized and they have her under observation right now. They won't let you have a phone up there so I had to go back to the lounge" Zoe said as ordered another soft drink.

"I saw the display that Katie had setup. I don't know if you had time to get a good look at it but someone has put a lot of work into that thing. Even I remember some of those what ifs they used to talk about. It's like so many things at once but everything is independent." Grace said excitedly

"O My God! Is that thing not amazing? I'm wondering what this is all about though, I mean this thing

is kind of out of the blue don't you think? Nobody else seems to know any thing about it from what

little I've heard so far. Oh by the way did you know anything about Mom and Rick coming out

here?" Zoe asked

"Well now that I think of it Mom did say something about coming down here, but you know how that goes, It's always a if they have time thing. It would be great if they could make it, it seems like forever that they have been to one of these shows." Grace said as she made her way across the arena she was in.

"I know it would be nice to see them now because when this wraps up I am heading out for some circuit riding before school starts again. If I stick it out for one more year I will graduate if you can believe that." Zoe said with a chuckle

"Okay, I'm going to check in with Eli and the go over to the hotel. Call me if there is any change, all right?"

"I will do that Grace, I am heading back up now."

Meanwhile back in Katie's Coma

Now wouldn't you know that I would get a stupid song stuck in my head right about now? All right it's not a stupid song. It's actually a catchy little tune that you might have heard a time or two, since it was a number one hit at one time.

I know what you are thinking now, that could be any one of a thousand songs but this one has me in mind personally. Can you imagine a hot rock and roll guy singing just for little old me? It might not have started out that way originally but hey, I'm gonna be a legend in my own mind here for a while.

I think I will lean back and close my eyes and think about this one for a while. While I'm humming this incredible song I think I will picture myself riding in the car with the top down and my long hair flowing back and my large sunglasses on. That's hot if I do say so myself. I'll give you a hint who the rock star is: he was once a cartoon hero.

Now if I start singing it will give away the song and there will no point to all of this. So I'll give you another hint: he dated the devil. Whoa; your thinking that could be anybody in the music business and you would be right. She wasn't really the devil but she had people thinking that she was after a certain Oscar winning movie she played the part in. That was a real head turner. Ha-ha.

Of course after being around the great and wonderful me it is obvious why he is looking for a girl like me. But I don't think we have ever met. So I'm tapping out the beat on my steering wheel and I'm speeding up because my head is starting to shake and I am sooo alooone on this road that I can do what I want. Did I mention that he is an actor?

Ahh but not just any actor. He played a doctor. A rock and roll doctor on a soap opera. Here comes that awesome guitar rift. Excuse me while I play some serious AIR GUITAR!

I know; driving and playing air guitar is not good mix but what the heck I'm already in a coma so who cares? Don't try this at home. Figured it out yet? I'll give you a hint: he just released a new album and one of the songs is called What's Victoria's Secret? Well that's what I want to know too.

I've got my head banging, hair blowing, air guitar playing self hauling some serious ass down the road and this guy is shouting out how he wants Jessie's girl.

Thanks Rick, I am truly flattered. But I AM JESSIE'S GIRL and I plan to stay that way. So wherever I am in this head of mine I know that's a fact. That's a fact, that's a fact o boy I feel ever so much better now!

I feel like someone is trying to get me to wake up but it's not her. I think I'll just relax and wait until she gets here because I don't think she is far away.

ICU

Zoe came back to the room and she found Katie in a disturbed state. She called a nurse in and they checked to make sure nothing had come undone and then she calmed down and went back to a more restive state of being.

Zoe brushed the hair back from around Katie's face and then pulled a chair over and sat holding her hand. Of all her friends and sisters and relatives and anybody she had ever met Katie was probably the only one who understood how wound up she could get and knew how to help her calm down.

A tear rolled down her cheek as she thought of the many times in the past Katie had helped her through a hard time.

"You're lying here in a coma all broken up and yet you have a smile on your face and you are calming me down. How can you do that?" she thought with wonder.

The nurse came back in and took her vitals again and plumped her pillow while Zoe held her up.

"She's lucky you know" the nurse said as she started for the door.

"What do you mean?" Zoe asked

"I mean that she is lucky to have you here. I'm not sure who she is but the phone hasn't stopped ringing with calls for and about her"

"Well do me a favor and don't tell her that when she wakes up or that swollen head of hers will explode." Zoe said laughing. "I know I shouldn't ask, but you work here and see stuff like this pretty regularly, how do you think she is doing?"

"Like I said, she is lucky. Her injuries could have been worse and it was fortunate that you were able to respond so quickly to her needs. I have seen lots worse but she is young and healthy so I think she will be up and around soon." She said and then left the room.

That sounds good to me Zoe thought to herself as she went back to sitting there by Katie's bedside holding her hand again.

tbc

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End file.
